Halloween Showdown

RYAN BLAKE THURMAN

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Herald Sports Editor

The Plainview Bulldogs hope this week's Halloween showdown with the Hereford Whitefaces is all treats and no tricks as the two District 4-4A teams without a league victory square off at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Whiteface Stadium.

"We usually have a few tricks up our sleeve like we did last week with Marquis (Jackson)," Plainview head coach Marty McClintock said. "We've got a couple deals we're working on, not real crazy stuff . . . I would like our tricks to turn into treats, though, and not a pumpkin."

While the Bulldogs will make use of some tricks, they will continue to rely on their running game which has served them well the past two games, narrow losses to Big Spring and then-No. 10 Frenship.

"It's been really good to finally get our backs going these last few weeks," McClintock said.

Last week against Frenship, Melvin Shivers led the way for Plainview, pounding out 82 yards on 28 carries. Jackson contributed 20 yards on six carries.

"We'll keep using Marquis in any way we can: speed sweeps, throwing, reverses. He makes it exciting for us back there. He does a good job of getting into the open field," said McClintock.

Jackson also was instrumental in helping kick-start the Bulldogs' pass game last week, hitting Roy Smith on a 50-yarder that helped set up Plainview's first touchdown of the night.

Due to last week's success in the passing game, Plainview has been able to focus less on transferring practice to the game and spend more time on increasing effectiveness.

"We're trying to be more efficient with execution and get the little details done - securing the ball and catching. We're still just trying to get yards and control the line of scrimmage," said McClintock. "Hopefully we can get the ball to (Kaegan) Hembree, Roy and Thomas (Curry) and they can get some stuff going that will make things exciting.

"Hopefully we can explore the passing game a bit more this week. Jason (Miller) hit the underneath routes last week, and when you hit those the defense has to come up and cover them. It's a cat-and-mouse type of thing."

Miller finished last Friday's game 5-for-12 with 81 yards.

Hereford has given up 1,326 rushing yards and 1,386 passing yards on the season.

Defensively, the Bulldogs again have to contend with the offense of choice for most schools Plainview has played this season: the spread.

"They have a good quarterback in Parker Bridwell, and he throws the ball extremely well. He's probably not as mobile as most of the quarterbacks we've seen - he's more of a pocket passer - but he does a good job of running their offense," said McClintock.

Bridwell is 140-for-228 on the year for 1,716 yards, eight interceptions and 11 touchdowns.

Bridwell's favorite targets are receivers Jonathan Davis and Chass Yosten. Davis has caught 55 balls for 571 yards, but has only scored one TD. Yosten is the more explosive of the two receivers, averaging almost 20 yards per catch and has eight touchdowns.

"This week we're really going to have to get a good pass rush and try to force Bridwell to run," said McClintock. "We're also going to try and scheme their pass routes and use variations of our coverages. And like we always want to, we want to stay physical and make some big plays and some big hits."

When Hereford does try to run the ball, the Whitefaces will rely on Nathan Losolla who has picked 442 yards and six touchdowns on 62 carries this season.

Last week, the Bulldogs were able to contain Frenship's ground attack, giving up only 106 yards, but had trouble defending the pass, yielding 222 yards and three touchdowns.

However, Plainview picked off two passes and forced and recovered four fumbles. Taner Velasquez and Brian Avilez led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles apiece. Velasquez also forced three fumbles and recovered two, and Avilez also had a fumble recovery. Travis Glenn led the secondary with nine tackles as well as an interception.

Like he does most road games, McClintock believes his team must match and exceed Hereford's intensity level, especially since it will be the Whitefaces' senior night.

"Hereford is going to be excited about playing their last home game, and we have to match that excitement. Plus, it's their senior night and the home team always has the comfort of playing at home," said McClintock. "The kids know this is a big game and we're going to come out and play hard and try to keep ourselves in the playoff picture."

Hopefully for Plainview, the ghosts of losses-past (i.e., the last two weeks close calls) will stay hidden this week and allow the Bulldogs to pick up a win and keep their playoff chances in the realm of the living.